On behalf of the Presidentís Commission on the United States
Postal Service (USPS), Black & Veatch, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and
American Viewpoint conducted a nationwide consumer survey among 760 adults. The
survey was formulated by members of the Presidentís Commission, Black & Veatch,
Peter D. Hart, and American Viewpoint, and was designed to examine Americansí
attitudes toward the USPS, including perceived strengths and weaknesses, various
proposals to reform the USPS business model and its operations, and the value
placed on its current products and services, as well as the potential value of
new ones. Respondents were selected at random according to standard national
sampling procedures, and interviews were conducted by telephone on May 19 and
20, 2003. The margin of error is Ī3.6% for results among all adults and larger
among certain subgroups

Americans have an overall positive attitude toward the USPS,
citing neither substantial weaknesses nor a desire for major reforms. A majority
express the need to keep technology and business practices up to date, and to
maintain the focus on the USPS core competency of delivering letters and small
packages. Current USPS services are valued at about the same level as those
provided by private competitors such as UPS and Federal Express. This report
summarizes the surveyís top-level findings. When available, the survey provides
trend data from surveys conducted in November 1994 and June 2001.

Most Americans View USPS Favorably

Americans have an overwhelmingly favorable view of the United
States Postal Service, as four in five (79%) say that they feel positive about
it, including 47% who say very positive. Fewer than one in ten (9%) have
negative feelings about the USPS, and 12% are neutral. Midwesterners are the
most favorable (89% very or somewhat positive), whereas those in the western
United States feel slightly less favorable (71%). Unlike all other delivery
services and methods tested, the United States Postal Service has 100% name
recognition among Americans.

Today, more Americans think that the quality and reliability of
the USPS generally is getting better (36%) than think it is getting worse (16%).
A plurality (46%) say that the USPS is neither better nor worse today than it
was five years ago. These results are substantially more positive than are the
results from the same question asked in 2001 (28% getting better, 15% getting
worse) and 1994 (24%, 22%).

USPS on Par With the Competition

Americansí feelings toward the USPS are statistically
identical to their feelings toward package delivery services such as UPS (78%
positive, 4% negative), and on par with their feelings toward overnight express
delivery services such as Federal Express (71%, 3%). UPS enjoys a somewhat
higher name recognition (7% do not know enough to rate) than does Federal
Express (14%). Less familiarity with Federal Express may explain its slight
favorability deficit.

Nearly half (46%) of Americans say that the USPS is doing
about enough to stay competitive when taking into account the challenges it
faces from other package and letter delivery services. An additional 13% think
that USPS is doing more than enough to compete. Despite these encouraging
reports, 29% say that it is not doing enough to stay competitive, including 14%
who say that the USPS has made far too few changes and has fallen behind the
competition.

In a second, stricter assessment of the USPSís ability to
compete, a strong majority (57%) of Americans say that they are satisfied with
the USPSís ability to compete with other package and letter delivery services;
only one in ten (10%) are dissatisfied. All in all, the USPSís ratings are
strikingly competitive for a government agency in comparison with the ratings of
its heavily advertised private sector rivals.

Few Americans See Need for Major USPS Overhaul

Only one in five (22%) Americans believe that major changes
or a complete overhaul is necessary to make the United States Postal Service
work extremely well. More than two in five (43%) think that it requires only
minor changes, and three in 10 (30%) say that it works extremely well as is.

These findings are a strong improvement upon the results of
the 1994 survey (39% felt a complete overall or major changes were necessary),
which followed several media reports of undelivered mail and other USPS
shortcomings. Indeed, the proportion seeing little need for change in 2003 is up
16 percentage points from 57% in 1994. Although this change may reflect little
more than time passing since the disturbing findings and negative media coverage
of the 1990s, it may reflect real performance improvements that have increased
the publicís confidence in the Postal Service.

When asked to volunteer an area that USPS could improve, 14%
mention long lines at the Post Office as the problem they would most like to see
addressed. Nearly as many (13%) suggest earlier delivery times or other delivery
schedule changes. Other areas for improvement include lower stamp prices (9%),
longer hours (7%), and greater accuracy in mail delivery (7%).

Rates Evoke Some Concern, but USPS Personnel Receive High Marks

More than a quarter (28%) of Americans are dissatisfied with
the 37-cent cost of mailing a first-class letter, however, fully half (50%)
report that they are satisfied with the current stamp price. Moreover, by 64% to
15% Americans say that in terms of the price they pay, they are satisfied with
the value they receive from the USPS. Postal rates are Americansí most prominent
concern, as no more than one in five Americans expresses dissatisfaction with
any other tested aspect of postal service performance.

In other areas of customer satisfaction, United States Postal
Service personnel receive particularly high marks. Overall, nearly
three-quarters of Americans are satisfied with the quality of service they
receive from their local Post Office. This is an eight-percentage-point increase
from 64% in 1994. Additionally, 76% of Americans are satisfied with their letter
carrier, including 43% who are extremely satisfied.

Majority Oppose USPS Privatization

Although some Americans want change within the USPS, most
clearly think that privatization is not the answer. By 67% to 24%, Americans
reject transforming the United States Postal Service into a private company. A
remarkable 53% strongly oppose the proposal, which is an unusual level of
intensity.

In fact, Americans express little interest in having private
entities conduct even part of the Postal Serviceís mail delivery tasks. On a
zero-to-ten scale, on which a 10 means that change should be the Postal
Serviceís top priority, and a zero means that the Postal Service should not
spend too much time making changes in an area, only 18% rate developing a system
to allow private companies to deliver packages and letters into home mailboxes
as an eight, nine, or 10. Just one in three (33%) place a high priority on using
private companies to sort, process, and transport mail in cases in which doing
so might help improve service or control costs. Similarly, more than a third
(37%) place a high priority on postal services delivered through a wide variety
of retail locations, such as drug stores and grocery stores.

When the question shifts to emphasize controlling costs,
support rises slightly, but still fails to attain a majority. By 44% to 50%, the
public rejects a proposal to require the USPS to reduce its costs by hiring
private companies to assist in the sorting, processing, and transporting of
mail. More than a third (35%) of the public strongly opposes such a requirement.

By 71% to 24%, the public also strongly opposes proposals
that would allow private companies to use home mailboxes for commercial mail
delivery. The largest proportion (47%) of those opposed fear that it would
increase the volume of commercial mail they receive. Other concerns include
identity theft (19%) and homesí becoming less secure (17%).

Public Supports Raising Rates to Avoid Subsidies or Cuts in USPS
Service

Americans display a noteworthy dose of realism when
considering choices for changing the USPS. For example, by 55% to 33%, they
would rather see an increase in the cost of stamps than a decline in the level
of services provided by the USPS. On another question, Americans reject a
proposal to bring back postal subsidies by 54% to 36%. The public clearly
believes that the USPS should continue to operate at its current service levels
and raise rates as needed to maintain its budgetary self-sufficiency.

Americans reject a proposal to give the USPS greater
flexibility to change prices by eliminating the requirement to receive approval
from the postal regulator, however. While the public chooses rate increases over
reductions in services, privatization, and subsidies, they believe that current
checks on rate increases should remain in place.

Modern Technology and Business Management Cited As Top
Priorities

Americans desire few changes in the USPS, and the ones they
do advocate are in its technology and business management. They are eager to see
the USPS embrace new technologies and adopt the most modern business practices.
As many as three in five (59%) rate as a high priority seeing the USPS use
technology to enable customers to track mail through the postal system, and more
than half (53%) would like to see greater use of modern business practices to
improve management and efficiency. By 68% to 23%, Americans endorse an
acceleration of kiosk and ATM use for postage distribution.

Americans also endorse a proposal that would give the USPS
greater flexibility to close or consolidate mail-processing centers when doing
so increases the overall efficiency of operations. Nearly seven in 10 (68%)
respondents support the proposal and just a quarter (25%) oppose it. It is
important to remember, however, that agreement with this type of
business-oriented decision in principle does not guarantee against opposition to
closing specific local facilities.

Overall, few people see enough problems within the USPS to
endorse major changes, especially when it means any sacrifices on the part of
the public. Just one-third (35%) of

Americans place a high priority on using the most efficient means of mail
delivery when it is suggested that this means using curb-side delivery or
cluster boxes, and only 31% place a priority on requiring greater
standardization of packages, letter sizes, and weights to improve service and
control costs. When this requirement shifts to the Postal Service rather than
customers, however, its popularity improves dramatically (69% favor, 25%
oppose). In other words, the public favors standardization as a cost cutting
measure by the USPS, but does not see it as a priority, and support is greater
when the burden for standardization lies with the USPS rather than the
customers.

Another popular proposal, although somewhat less so, is
providing customers with an opportunity to send first-class mail using
personalized stamps. These personalized stamps may include a personal message, a
picture, or a graphic printed from a computer. Half (50%) of the public supports
this proposal, 39% oppose it.

Several other proposals fail to win majority support. In
keeping with the publicís rejection of postal privatization, equal proportions
of Americans support (47%) and oppose (47%) a proposal giving the USPS authority
to close Post Offices when similar services can be provided through grocery
stores, shopping malls, and other retailers. The public also is divided evenly
over whether the USPS should expand into non-postal businesses such as
electronic bill paying over the Internet (46% support, 46% oppose). Finally,
despite the publicís hesitation to see the Postal Service expand, Americans also
reject a proposed requirement for the USPS to limit its mission to the delivery
of traditional paper mail (38%, 54%).

Conclusions

The overall findings point to a public that is largely
satisfied with the current performance of the United States Postal Service. It
sees a need for the USPS to continue to improve and modernize to keep up to date
with technology and private-sector competition, but it does not see any need for
a major overhaul, sweeping changes, such as complete or partial privatization,
or even changes that would become an inconvenience to customers in any way.
Lacking any sense that the system is broken, the public evaluates most proposals
from the simple basis of whether it would add up to a convenience for them
personally.

The
only clear exception to these narrow self-interest-driven poll responses is
funding, for which the public clearly would prefer increases in stamps and other
rates to any subsidies that would add pressure to the federal budget deficit.
The public generally supports the idea that modern business practices can
increase management efficiency as long as customers are not burdened and the
appropriate checks and balances remain in place to evaluate any changes in
pricing.

Project #5:
A telephonic survey of consumer attitudes about the Postal Service, including
its products and services, and various proposals to reform the business model
and operations of the Postal Service